Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas || Brujo + Ghost = Sweet M/M Romance, Apparently

Posted August 23, 2020 by Sammie in #ownvoices, book review, diversity, eARC, fantasy, five stars, LGBT, NetGalley, romance, young adult / 6 Comments

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas || Brujo + Ghost  = Sweet M/M Romance, Apparently

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas || Brujo + Ghost  = Sweet M/M Romance, Apparently

Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas
Published by: Swoon Reads on September 1, 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQ
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Rating:
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star




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Perfect for readers who want:

  • Transgender rep
  • M/M slow-burn, ill-fated romance
  • Latinx rep
  • A trio who are clearly friendship goals, complete with banter
  • Cute doggo sidekicks who would lick you as soon as look at you
  • Large Latinx families with strong family bonds
  • A compelling paranormal murder mystery
  • A knife right in the feels … but in a good way?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Swoon reads for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

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If summoning ghosts that refuse to cross over and instead just nag your every moment isn’t my aesthetic, I don’t know what is. Of course I had to read this book.

Cemetery Boys is a slow-burn M/M romance that will pull you in with an intriguing mystery and then trick you into fretting over the well-being of these precious cinnamon rolls for the other 320 pages.

It’s a trap, guys. For real. I confess, I was a little surprised. I thought I was here for the mystery, where a brujo dies violently but no one can find his body or what happened to him. Sounds right in my wheelhouse, right? Yet, while I did enjoy that aspect of it, what ended up getting me was really the characters, and what I most enjoyed in this book were the little interactions between Yadriel and Julian that had me falling in love with them and tricked me into wanting this romance that was doomed from the start to be a thing.

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Forget quinces. This is the coming of age celebration you want to have.

I mean, if you’re a brujo, they straight up give you a dagger that was made specially for you. Sorry, but nothing says, “Welcome to adulthood,” more than being handed a pointy object that’s meant just for you. I approve of this, and if I’m honest, I’m a little disappointed at the marked lack of dagger-giving during my own teen years.

In Cemetery Boys, the brujx have a ceremony when they turn 15 to officially come into their powers and be blessed as one of Lady Death’s own. At this point, they get a portaje. For brujo, it’s a dagger that lets them sever a spirit’s connection to the living world and send them on their way. For bruja, it’s a piece of jewelry that can hold sacrificial blood that they use to heal. No matter how you slice it, it’s a pretty good deal, just for turning 15. And to think, all I got was the crippling anxiety that comes with knowing you’re one year closer to college.

The powers in this are subtle for most of the book, mostly manifesting in the ability to see and interact with spirits. But when they’re needed, they sure do come in handy.

Part of the book itself is Yadriel and his cousin Maritza really coming into their power. Maritza refuses to use hers, because she’s vegan and doesn’t want to use animal blood to heal (and human blood is out of the question for some really good reasons that I won’t get into … you know, like death). Yadriel’s struggle, on the other hand, hits the feels much harder. Because he’s transgender, his family denied him a ceremony, refusing to accept him as a brujo and attempting to force him to become a bruja.

Which leads us to the next point, I suppose …

“We talked it over and came to a compromise,” Maritza said.

“She threatened to put a curse on me,” Julian supplied.

Maritza shook out her curls and continued on, as if Julian hadn’t said anything. “Julian says he’ll behave himself and not cause any trouble.”

Yadriel’s skepticism must’ve showed, because she added, “Or he’ll suffer the consequences.”

Julian squinted up at Maritza. “I don’t know if I believe she can do that.” Then, to Yadriel. “Can she do that?”

“Problaby best not to push your luck and find out,” Yadriel said.
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I am not transgender, and despite having transgender friends, this book was more of a learning experience for me than anything. Yadriel’s journey is so moving and emotional.

At its core are emotions that I think many of us can recognize: wanting to find a place to belong, trying to carve out space for yourself in a world that doesn’t always want you. That basic human need of wanting to be understood and accepted is part of what I think makes Yadriel’s voice so relatable and easy to lean into.

Where Yadriel’s perspective becomes all the more heartbreaking is that his identity is constantly being disregarded by the people who are supposed to love him the most, and the reader can see him being worn down, over and over again, with the daily worries of who’s going to hurt him today.

It’s the small things in this book that jump out the most for me, things that would never occur to me to have to worry about, like wearing a binding and how that impacts daily life, or the fact that a yearbook exposes your dead name and so may not be the same nostalgic keepsake that it is for others.

I did love that even though this could, by all rights, be a really depressing read, it isn’t, because Yadriel is carving his own way in this book—surrounding himself with a solid support system and forcing his family to see him for who he truly is.

It isn’t easy, so I don’t want to minimize that, but I was rooting for Yadriel so much and I want to emphasize that even though his struggle is so emotional and often painful, there are a lot of really sweet moments on his journey and it’s not all doom and gloom.

Yadriel was always forgiving people for being callous. For misgendering him and calling him by his deadname. He was always giving them the benefit of the doubt, or writing it off as people not understanding, or being stuck in their ways when they were hurtful.

Well, Yadriel was tired of it. He was tired of forgiving. He was tired of fighting to just exist and be himself. He was tired of being the odd one out.
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The trio vibe is really strong with this book, and these characters make it work.

My favorite parts of this book are for sure when Maritza, Yadriel, and Julian are together and just … are themselves? Their adorable, banterish, slightly threatening, sometimes fluffy selves. Their personalities just jumped right off the page, and I felt like I was getting to have this experience with them, as a fourth member of the trio … a quartet, maybe? Minus the singing, because … yikes. I think we’ve established that none of them are great at singing, and I for sure am not adding anything to that equation, thanks.

There’s a lot of found family going on in this book, too, but also just complicated family relationships in general.

Because life is hard, and family is sometimes harder. You love them, but you also can’t guarantee you’re not going to wake up early one morning and just smother them in their sleep. It’s complicated.

I don’t actually want to say too much about this, because learning about Julian and his background is part of the charm of the book (and his character itself), but prepare for some surprises! The way he frets over his found family is just *chef’s kiss*. And when it comes to his biological family? Feels. All the feels. I’m not usually a crier, but the Sammie reading this book was a hot mess, okay?

“I died, didn’t I?” The fierceness had gone, leaving his voice small and weak. “Am I dead?”

Yadriel winced and gave a small nod. “Yeah…”

Julian stumbled back a step, his body wavering in and out of existence for a moment, like a camera trying to focus. “Oh, Jesus.” He pressed both hands against his face. “My brother is gonna kill me,” he murmured against his palms.

“Looks like someone already beat him to it,” Maritza said, reaching out to poke her finger right through Julian’s elbow.

“Quit it!” he snapped, wrenching his arm away.
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This romance is so not what I normally want in romance (where’s even the stabbiness?!). It’s a slow burn M/M romance between two cinnamon rolls. And yet … I absolutely loved this so freaking much.

It’s the cinnamon rolls. I’m sure of it. They get me every time. Ill-fated lovers is one of my favorite tropes, because if the romance is built properly, you want it so badly, yet you know it can’t happen, and it’s that delicious tension and drama that does it for me every time. Cemetery Boys is certainly no exception to that.

With each new reveal about Julian and his character, I fell in love with him a little more, and so did Yadriel … and who can blame him? The way these two interacted made my little black heart have all the feels.

And you know what? I stand by my statement that feels are so overrated. The struggle is real. Every sweet moment is yet another reminder that it’s not like the romance can just easily work out in the end, which adds another bittersweet layer on top of everything else.

So the fact that I totally fell head-over-heels for this romance that’s so different from the type of romance I normally read and love? Well, do with that what you will.

No one was meant to last as a spirit floating between two worlds, but especially Julian. He was a boy made of fire who’d been turned to frost. He was meant to burn.
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About Aiden Thomas

Aiden Thomas is a YA author with an MFA in Creative Writing. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. As a queer, trans, latinx, Aiden advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media. Aiden’s special talents include: quoting The Office, Harry Potter trivia, Jenga, finishing sentences with “is my FAVORITE”, and killing spiders. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color.

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Similar books you might also enjoy:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe     They Both Die at the End     The Extraordinaries


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You can find the full tour schedule here.

August 19
The Writer’s Alley – Review
Local Bee Hunter’s Nook – Review + Favorite Quotes
My Honey Reads – #OwnVoices Reflection (IG)
The Reading Fairy – #OwnVoices Reflection (IG)

August 20
Roro is Reading – Review + Promotional Post
Reading with Pride – Fan Art + Playlist
Kelsey Ford – Promotional Post
Ana and Books – #OwnVoices Reflection
Tanyx Screams – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 21
Db’s Guide to the Galaxy – Review
Wow Books Nice – Review + Mood Board
Problems of a Book Nerd – Video Review
Pages Left Unread – #OwnVoice Reflection

August 22
Al Garete Latinx – Review
Enthralled Bookworm – Reasons Why You Should Read Cemetery Boys
Puzzle Paws Blog – Review
Blck Bookish – Playlist

August 23
The Bookwyrm’s Den – Review
Woven from Words – #OwnVoices Reflection
Every Book a Doorway – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 24
I Am Lit and Wit – Review + Favorite Quotes
Stacia Loves to Read – Review
Unconventional Quirky Bibliophile – Blog Interview
Lecturas Lunares – #OwnVoices Reflection
Nox Reads – Author Interview

August 25
Perpetual Pages – Video Cemetery Boys Tag + Favorite Quotes
Perks of Being a Bookworm – Review + Playlist + Mood Board
Xiomy’s Book Tales – #OwnVoices Reflection
Dragon on a Book – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 26
Meagan Kimberly – Review
Luis Reading Books – Review + Favorite Quotes
Bookish Mica – #OwnVoices Reflection
Bookstagram Represent – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 27
@berrybookpages – Favorite Quotes
Idle Minded Reader – Promotional Post
Nox Reads – Video 7 Reasons I LOVE Cemetery Boys
Jessica Reynolds – #OwnVoices Reflection
Honorary Trickster – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 28
DJ Reads Books – Review + Playlist
Pei Reads – Review + Mood Board
Lady Witchling – Video Review
Bookishbellee – Reasons why I’m Excited for Cemetery Boys

August 29
Nerdy Little Julith – Review
Kathy Trihardt – Video Review + Favorite Quotes
Jeffrey Merino – #OwnVoices Reflection
Spellbound by Books – #OwnVoices Reflection
Geek Declassified – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 30
Emma’s Really Bad Reading Vlogs – Video Review + Favorite Quotes
DiamondXGirl – Promotional Post
Aelin’s Kingdom – #OwnVoices Reflection
Bookwyrm’s Guide – #OwnVoices Reflection
Paperback Pastelitos – #OwnVoices Reflection

August 31
Books Build Life – Video Review
Sasha and Amber Read – Review
Salty Badger Books – #OwnVoices Reflection
The.Lingo.Lee – #OwnVoices Reflection

September 1
Reading As(I)an (AM)erican – Blog Interview
metamorphoreader– Favorite Quotes + Mood Board
The Bookish Crypt – Promotional Post

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Stay Fierce, Sammie

6 responses to “Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas || Brujo + Ghost = Sweet M/M Romance, Apparently

    • I think you’d like it! It’s heavy on the romance, which isn’t usually my thing, but it’s so hard not to love these kids that I wasn’t even mad about it lol.

  1. Ahh your review is amazing and brought back all the feels to me as well. I red this recently as part of another blog tour (my review coming soon) and it was one of my favorites of 2020. The characters, the romance, the found family dynamics, the magic system and world of the brujx <3 But definitely most of all the characters. And ahh, now that you mentioned it, a dagger as a gift at my fifteenth birthday would have been awesome indeed 🙂

    • Would’ve definitely been the highlight of my 15th birthday if it had been a thing, I can tell you that.

      But yes! I’m so glad to hear this is one of your favorites this year. It was fabulous, and I’m so glad I was able to read it. It’s been one I was really looking forward to, and I’m glad the hype was totally right!

  2. I am SO EXCITED for this book and I can’t wait for my copy to come in (even though it will probably take forever since I’m on the other side of the world)! Still, super excited! Your review is excellent (as always) and makes the book sound even better to me. I mean, m/m romance between two cinnamon rolls that doesn’t have stabbiness but Sammie still loves it?! I’M HERE FOR IT 😍
    Dini @ dinipandareads recently posted…Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUpMy Profile

    • I hope you’re able to get it sooooon! It was so worth a read. Right? What even IS romance without stabbiness? But I did. They got me, Dini. Right in the feels. It hurts, but in a good way.

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